YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – At least four people were shot dead during protests in Myanmar on Sunday as security forces continued their violent crackdown on dissent after last month’s military coup.
Two of the victims died in Yangon, the country’s largest city. One of them was shot in the head and another in the abdomen, according to local media covering the demonstrations in Hlaing Thar Yar municipality.
A third person was killed in the northern city of Hpakant when police fired on a crowd of protesters, local media reported. A fourth victim, a woman, died after being shot in the head in Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, while security forces were conducting dispatch operations.
In Yangon, the video posted on social media showed crowds of people, some with hats and gas masks, running down a street amid the sounds of gunfire. Protesters quickly sprayed steam from fire extinguishers as they withdrew.
The use of fire extinguishers, now common in protests in Myanmar, aims to stifle tear gas and also create a steam screen that makes it difficult to chase or shoot protesters for police.
Injuries caused by live wheels and rubber bullets were also reported in other parts of Yangon, including Insein district, where waves of black smoke could be seen after security forces reportedly set fire. cuts.
On Saturday, the civilian leader of the hidden Myanmar government vowed to continue supporting a “revolution” to oust military leaders who took power in the February 1 coup. Mahn Win Khaing Than, who was appointed acting vice president by Myanmar’s ousted lawmakers and a member of leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted political party, addressed the public for the first time since the coup.
“This is the darkest moment in the nation and the moment when dawn is approaching,” he said in a video posted on the government’s website and social media in the shadows.
“In order to form a federal democracy, which all ethnic brothers who have been suffering various kinds of oppressions from the dictatorship for decades really wanted, this revolution is an opportunity to unite our efforts,” he said.
He added: “We will never give up an unjust military, but we will sculpt our future together with our united power. Our mission must be fulfilled. ”
At the end of the message, he threw out the three-fingered salute that has become a symbol of resistance to military rulers.
Also on Saturday, security forces reopened fire on protesters and killed four in Mandalay, two in Pyay, south-central Myanmar, and one in Twante, a suburb of Yangon. Details of the seven deaths were posted on various social media accounts, with some accompanied by photos of the victims.
The actual death toll is likely to be higher, as police apparently seized some bodies and some of the victims suffered severe shots that doctors and nurses working in makeshift clinics would be difficult to treat. Many hospitals are occupied by security forces and as a result are boycotted by medical staff and rejected by protesters.
UN Human Rights independent expert in Myanmar Tom Andrews said last week that credible reports indicated at least 70 people had died so far and cited growing evidence of crimes against humanity by the military.
Other unofficial but carefully compiled records place the death toll since the coup at around 90.
Saturday’s killings did not frighten Yangon protesters who crowded a commercial area of the center after the official curfew at 8pm to hold a massive candlelight vigil and sing about their cause. Most of the young protesters gathered at an intersection where they usually gather for daytime protests.
Concentrations were also held after dark in Mandalay and elsewhere.
Night protests may reflect a more aggressive approach to self-defense advocated by some protesters. Police have been aggressively patrolling residential neighborhoods at night, firing into the air and firing stun grenades as part of the intimidation.
They have also been conducting specific raids, bringing people home with minimal resistance. In at least two known cases, the detainees died detained within hours of being transferred.